The Philippines marked its 118th anniversary of independence from Spain on June 12 with a flag-raising event by President Benigno Aquino III at a historical urban park in Manila."This was unintentional, and we're sorry.

We care deeply about the community in the Philippines and, in an attempt to connect people on Independence Day, we made a mistake," Facebook said in a statement sent to The Philippine Star.

Earlier, the greeting from Facebook that appeared on the users' timeline read: "Happy Independence Day! Here's to all of the Philippines' health, happiness and prosperity. "But the greeting came with an inverted Philippine flag that immediately went viral.

The Philippine flag had an inverted colour scheme - red on top and blue on the bottom. According to the Philippine law, the flag should only be displayed in that configuration during times of war.In the time of peace, it's flown with blue on top and red on bottom.